Personality and depth overcomes a lack of originality.
The frustration with Fox n Forests comes from boring repetition and a lazy approach to progression. It’s a shame – there are unique mechanics at play and some pretty fun platforming. The game just doesn’t hold up to keep players around for long.
What The Thin Silence sets out to do is ambitious. To capture the tonal and emotional depth of recent successes like Limbo is not an easy task. This game accomplishes that in some respect.
Not without its frustrations, GARAGE: Bad Trip offers players a sometimes fun and challenging twin stick adventure. It’s enveloped in an intriguing story line and boasts a memorable soundtrack. With a low cost of entry, the game offers value, some enjoyment and is worth a look, even if for just a bit.
Given that this is the product of a development team of only two, The Path of Motus is an impressive feat. The game does have it’s downfalls – it doesn’t provide anything particularly ground breaking in the gameplay department and it leaves some of the better gameplay mechanics poorly exposed.
There is a lot to like about HYPERGUN. While the distinct visuals and sound track only run skin deep, there is a real excitement and allure of unlocking rare weapon attachments and it did help me to push through the more frustrating aspects of the game.
For those who spent hours playing the original Ninja Gaiden or Castlevania on NES and are looking for a bit of nostalgia, The Messenger will be a near perfect fit.
Final Days offers players a lot of fun and won’t break the bank. It’s surprisingly rewarding and takes a refreshing amount of planning to survive.
What GRIS demonstrates is that there is beauty in ambiguity, and solace in solitude.
In the pursuit of crafting an indistinguishable game world and granting advanced levels of autonomy, the developers forgot to make Vane any fun to play.
This game will not challenge you nor will it show you anything that you haven’t seen before from a mechanic point of view. Clocking in at only 3 to 5 hours, you won’t even be playing it for all that long. But what Pikuniku will do is make you smile. It’s outrageous, random, nostalgic, and most importantly, shouldn’t be missed.
Katana ZERO is a game that has a lot going for it. The visual style, music, branching dialogue options, and unique time bending abilities certainly separate it from the crowded pack of 2D side scrolling indie action games. Unfortunately, this isn’t enough to save it from repetitive and aggravating game play.
Boasting challenging run and gun gameplay, an impressive amount of replayability, and an unmatched level of nostalgia, Blazing Chrome is a must have.
Despite some repetition, uneven visuals, and derivative mechanics, Children of Morta is an absolute joy to play from start to finish. A smooth progression system, randomly generated elements, and a ton of different abilities to play with were more than enough for us to look past some of the game’s shortcomings. We highly recommend this one whether you’re a seasoned vet of the dungeon crawler genre, or just looking for a new and charming rouge-like experience.
For fans of intricate and challenging puzzle games, The Sojourn is a no brainer.
Trine 4’s varied and accessible approach to puzzle solving help it to stand out as a somewhat memorable and amusing experience. A charming world with an endearing cast of characters ensure that this lighthearted adventure remains enjoyable and never too trying. While there are some tedious combat sequences and balancing issues with your three characters, these never get in the way of what Trine 4 has to offer. At a budget price, Trine 4 is as easy to recommend as it is to pick up and play.
Despite Superliminal‘s sometimes less than comfortable gameplay mechanics, it provides an extremely unique take on the genre. Coupling that with a minimalistic but impactful narrative on how we can chose to live our own lives make it a memorable experience, even if not always that fun as a game.
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries offers a surprisingly accessible action packed experience with an impressive amount of depth. The managing of resources and expenses creates an intricate and rewarding metagame that expertly complements the intensity of the game's battles. Despite some shortcomings in cumbersome menu design and lacking mission variety, MechWarrior 5 is easy to recommend for both series veterans and newcomers.
Fans of both action and turn based strategy games should not miss Iron Danger when it releases on Steam on March 25th.
Minor technical and control issues aside, A Fold Apart is a game we won't soon forget and comes easy to recommend.